Splicing device



Oct. 7, 1952 w. M. DICE, JR 2,613,042

SPLICING DEVICE Filed July 15, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET l INVENTOR.

h//LL/AM N. DICE, JR.

BY cpl Oct. 7, 1952 Filed July 13, 1948 W. M. DICE, JR

SPLICING DEVICE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR. W/LL/HN MD/Cf, J6.

QTTOZZ/VE Y6.

Patented Oct. 7, 1952 NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE by mesne assignments,to The Ohio Rubber Company, Willoughby, Ohio,. a. corporation ofDelaware ApplicationJuly 1s, 1948;.Serial No. 33,451

Claims.

This invention relates as indicated to asplicing device and moreparticularly to a device adapted to attach the leading end of a tape orweb drawn from a new supply roll to a tape or web in course of. beingwithdrawn from. a nearly exhausted supply thereof.

There are many situations wherein it is desired continuously to withdrawa length of tape or the like froma supply thereof and to advance suchtape to a machine which utilizes the same. One such machine is shown anddescribed in application Serial No. 790,384, filed December 8, 1947. ofGeorge L. Meyers et al., Method and Machine for. Making Flexible Tubing,now Patent No. 2,539,853 dated January 30, 1951. In such machine acontinuous length of rubber treated tape is Wound about and adhered to acontinuously advancing wire helix to form flexible tubing suitable foruse as defroster hose and the like. Efiicient operation of machines ofthis type requires that supply of material thereto must not beunnecessarily; interrupted, and it is accordingly a primary object of myinvention to provide afmethod and mechanism whereby when a supply oftape which is in course of being drawn upon is nearly exhausted theleading end of a new supply will be automatically spliced theretowithout any interruption or even reduction in the speed of operation ofthe tubing forming machine or other machine utilizing such tape.

It is a further object .of my invention to pro vide'such mechanism whichwill require no supervision by an operator other than to periodicallyreplace theexhausted rolls or spools.

Still another object is to provide such mechanism which will be ofrelatively simple construction requiring very little maintenance.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

" To the accomplishment of the foregoing and 7 related ends,saidinvention then comprises the features hereinafter fully describedand particularly pointed out in the claims, the following descriptionand the annexed drawing. setting forth inf detail certain illustrativeembodiments of the Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram illustratingone form ofcontrol means for such mechanism.

Referringtnow more particularly to suchdrawing, the device thereillustrated comprises a backing plate I on which the various componentparts of the mechanism are mounted. Two spindles 2 and 3 are freelyrotatablymountedon plate I and spaced therefrom by means of sleeves suchas sleeve 4. Each of these spindles is identical and is adapted to havea roll of tape or similar web mounted thereon. Anearly exhausted roll 5of such tape is shown onspindle 2 and a new full roll 6 is shown onspindle 3.

A rotary shear is also mounted on-plate l intermediate and laterally ofspindles 2 and 3. Such shear comprises a stationary horizontally.disposed fiat blade member 1 and a rockable member 8 provided witharcuate upperand lower blades Sand I0 respectively. With member 8 inneutral position as shown in Fig. 1, there is a certainzamount ofclearance between each of blades 9 and I0 and intermediate fixed bladeI.

To facilitate assembly and maintenance, blades 9 and 10 may be. integralwith a short cylindrical portion ll (Fig. 3) and member 8 may be inthegeneral form of a split ring clamped about such cylindrical portion bymeans of screw l2-. Opposed tension springs l3 and M are attached tosuch screw and. adjustably secured-to brackets l5 and [6 respectively.These springs serve vto maintain the shear in horizontal or neutralposition, as illustrated. 1

Adjacent such shears and to the left thereof as viewed. in Fig. 1. islocated the splicing mechsuch slides is secured to the piston of arespective,

pneumatic piston cylinder assembly 23. and 24; While each of such pistoncylinder assemblies is provided with the. usual internal spring forreturning the piston when theair pressure is released, an auxiliaryspring 25 may desirably additionally be employed connecting slid -2| andbracket 11 to assist in the return of such slide against gravity.

Upper slide 2!.is providedwith a pair of flat rollers26 and zl opposedto a corresponding pair of rollers 28 and 29 carried by lower slide 22.-A laterally projecting lug 3i) on slide 2! ,anda similar lug 3| on slide22 is adapted to engage and rock member 8 when the corresponding slideis reciprocated.

As shown in Fig. l, a length of tape 321is in course of being drawn fromsupply roll 5 and,

after passing under guid roller 33, such tape fixed blade I, and the endof such tape adhered For the purto the upper surface of roller 29. posesof this description, it will be considered that the tape employed is acotton fabric tape.

impregnated with a rubber composition which is quite adhesive incharacter. this invention is, however, adapted for use with many typesof tapes and webs which may themselves be non-adhesive in character. Inthe latter The mechanism of The nearly exhausted roll of tape will thenbe removed from spindle 2 and replaced by a new full roll. The end ofthis new supply of tape will be conducted under guide roller 33, betweenupper blade 9 and fixed blade I of the shears and then adhered lightlyto the under surface of roller 21. As soon as slide 2I is moved upwardlyagain, springs I3 and I4 became operative to return the shears toneutral position. When roll of tape 6 now becomes exhausted,micro-switch 50 will be similarly actuated to energize time delay relayI02, thereby operating solenoid operated three-way valve I93 admittingfluid pressure to case, the end of the tape may be lightly adhered tothe upper surface of roller 29 by means of a small amount of adhesive,such adhesive being only sufficient to hold the end of the tape in placebut permitting such tape to be immediately withdrawn from the roller bythe exercise of a relatively light pull thereon. The upper surface ofthe end of such non-adhesive tape will have applied thereto a smallamount of a stronger adhesive material.

A lever 31 pivotally mounted at 38 on plate I carries a roller 39 at itsfree end adapted to be held against the outer periphery of tape roll 5through the action of weight 40 on the end of angle arm 4I rigidlysecured to lever 31. A finger 42 on lever 31 to the other side of pivot38 is positioned to engage and operate micro-switch 43 when lever 31 hasbeen rocked sufliciently in a counterclockwise direction as viewed inFig. l. A similar lever 44 pivoted at 45 on plate I carries a roller 46at its free-end adapted to bear against the outer periphery of roll oftape 6. A weight 4'! on the end of angle arm 48 serves to hold suchroller in engagement with the tape roll. Finger 49 will engage andoperate micro-switch 50 when roller 46 has moved sufficiently to theleft as viewed in Fig. 1.

' Theoperation of the above-described mechanism may now be understood asfollows, reference being also had to the typical wiring diagramillustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing. When substantially all of the tapehas been withdrawn from roll 5, finger 42 operates micro-switch 43 whichin turn, through a time delay relay I09,

actuates a conventional solenoid operated threeway valve IOI to admitair pressure to the cylinder of piston cylinder assembly 23. Slide 2Ithereupon descends and lug 39 engages member 8 to rock blade 9 to severtape 32 in cooperation with fixed blade 1. Immediately after thesevering of tape 32, rollers 26 and'Z'I engage corresponding rollers 28and 29 with the tape of course therebetween. The trailing end portion ofthe severed tape which is still moving to the left as viewed in Fig. 1is pressed against the leading end portion of tape 35 by the interactionof rollers Hand 29. The two lengths of tape are thereby adhered togetherand the overlapping splice moves (to the left in Fig. 1) betweenpressure rollers 26 and 28 before the above-mentioned time delay relaycauses the air pressure to be released from piston cylinder assembly 23and rollers 26 and 21 to be againelevated. In normal operation theperiod of time during which the opposed rollers are held together may beonly a fraction of a second. There is not the slightest interruption inthe supply of the tape or web to the machine utilizing the same, thesplice being made by the brief impact of roller 21.

the other end of piston-cylinder assembly 24 to cause piston cylinderassembly 24 to move slide 22 upwardly' Lug 3i on such slide will engagemember 8 to rock shear blade II] in a clockwise direction to sever tape35. Roller 29, continuing upwardly, forces the trailing end portion ofsuch tape 35 against the leading end portion of the tape adhered to theunder surface of roller 21, thereby splicing the two together. As abovepointed out, such initial splicing is achieved by a momentary sharpimpact rather than by merely squeezing the two tapes together. Insteadof lightly adhering the end of the tape to the under surface of roller21, if such tape is not very tacky, it may simply be allowed to rest onthe upper surface of moving tape 35 beneath roller 21. Similarly, theend of a new supply of tape from roll 6 need not necessarily be adheredto roller 29 but may merely rest thereon. The sharp impact between therollers serves to join the treated tapes even when they are notsuperficially sticky.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed,change being made as regards the details described, provided thefeatures stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of suchbe employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. Means for providing a continuous supply of adhesive tape comprisingtwo spindles adapted to have tape supply rolls mounted thereon, a r0-tary shear comprising a fixed central blade and two arcuate bladesrespectively to either side of said fixed blade adapted to cooperatetherewith when rocked about the axis of such arcs, two opposed pneumaticpiston-cylinder assemblies ade jacent said shears, a pair of rollerscarried by the piston of each said assembly adapted forcibly toengage-the other pair upon actuation of the correspondingpiston-cylinder assembly, a lug on each said piston adapted to engageand rock said shears in a corresponding direction, resilient meansadapted to return said shears to neutral position with each said arcuateblade spaced from said fixed blade, and control means for saidpiston-cylinder assemblies comprising rollers adapted to bear againstthe respective outer peripheries of such rolls of tape on said spindles,switches operative to control actuation of said respectivepiston-cylinder assemblies, and means responsive to movement of saidlast-named rollers toward said respective spindles adapted to actuatesaid corresponding switches.

2. Means operative to splice two adhesive webs together comprising twopneumatic piston-cylinder assemblies having their respective pistonsaxially opposed, a pair of rollers carried by each said pistons adaptedto be brought into engagement with the opposed pair thereof, and a,shears adjacent thereto adapted to sever a travelling web in timedrelation to actuation of said pistoncylinder assemblies whereby theleading end portion of a web placed between said opposed rollers may beadhered to the trailing end portion of a blade, resilient means normallyoperative to hold said mount with said two arcuate blades spacedrespectively above and below said intermediate blade to permit thepassage of two webs respectively therebetween, and means selectivelyoperable to rock said mount to sever the desired web.

4. A rotary shears selectively operative to sever one of two webspassing therethrough comprising a fixed intermediate blade, a rockablemount, two spaced arcuate blades carried by said mount to either side ofsaid intermediate blade end opposed thereto for respective shearingcooperation therewith when said mount is selectively rocked in oppositedirections, whereby said two webs may respectively pass between adifferent one of said respective arcuate blades and said fixed blade,and means selectively operable to rock said mount to sever the desiredweb.

5. A rotary shears selectively operative to sever one of two webspassing therethrough comprising a fixed intermediate blade, a rockablemount, two spaced blades carried by said mount to either side of saidfixed blade respectively and adapted alternately to cooperate therewithin shearing relation when said mount is rocked in opposite directions;whereby such two webs may respectively pass between different rockableblades and said fiiied blade, and means selectively operable to rock said mount in opposite directions.

WILLIAM M. DICE, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The'following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 80,531 Bennettet a1. Aug. 4, 18681,758,176 Scott May 13, 1930 1,899,185 Di Ianni Feb. 28, 1933 2,035,682Wikle Mar. 31, 1936 2,097,053 Zalesak Oct. 26, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 19,883 Great Britain Aug. 27, 1898 of 1897 5 SwedenJuly e, 1937 399,780 Great Britain Mar. 19, 1932

